Facts That Are Actually False About Renting A Boat

Editor

Rotterdam, Netherlands

Created on Mar 21, 2020

Mar 21, 2020

Categories: Sailor's Stuff

False ‘Fact’ 1: Being a yacht charter client is for rich people.

The truth is, a holiday on the boat is affordable. If you imagine multi-millionaires or celebrities having fine time on the boat, sorry, you’re wrong. It is indeed possible to take a vacation on a super-yacht for 50-to-100 thousand euros a week, but actually it is much cheaper to rent one of those new yachts that have everything you need. That means, for a boat that six people can comfortable share, you will pay 83-to-166 euros for the week. If you share the price among seven, that makes 12-to-24 euros per day. Well, you know you’d hardly get a hotel room for that price, but perhaps you could rent a camping space instead. If you’d like to stay in a hotel room with a sea view, that would be prohibitively expensive.
But if you choose a boat, even taking a vacation in the high season would be quite affordable. A boat with three cabins will cost around 1,200 euros per week during the summer. Let’s calculate the cost: 1200 euros / 6 persons / 7 days, equals 28 euros per day. That’s still an arguably good price…

False ‘Fact’ 2: A sailing holiday is not a comfort-lover’s cup of tea.

The truth is, there’s no bigger comfort in life than a holiday on a boat. Those who are not much accustomed to sea life might think that even if you see nice places on a sailing holiday, you don’t really have the comfort of a fine vacation. But on a modern boat, the truth is way different from that. Wide cabins, spacious toilets –more than one of them!-, a well-equipped kitchen, a fridge for cold drinks and food, and hot and cold showers any time, are among the basics you can find on a charter boat. You can find much more than that in many boats.

False ‘Fact’ 3: You need to have sailing experience to be a charter boat client.

The truth is, you don’t. You just hire a boat with a captain, and that’s all. While your experienced captain sails you from bays to ports and ports to bays, and you can enjoy a sailing holiday far better than any old seadog could dream of, without even knowing which side is the port and which one starboard (port is the left side of the boat and starboard is the right).
Bonus: If you find that you enjoy sailing, chatting with the captain might prove quite a good introduction to seafaring. Who knows, maybe you’ll think of getting a boat license when you’re back to the city…

False ‘Fact’ 4: Everybody on board should be knowledgeable about sailing.

The truth is, that’s what you don’t need at all! If there’s a licensed and experienced captain in the crew, none of the other vacationers need to know anything about the sea. There’s just one condition: Obeying the captain’s rules on safety. Other than that, all you need to do is to enjoy your holiday.

False ‘Fact’ 5: Children will get bored on a boat.

The truth is, if you consider children’s needs while planning your vacation, they will have a whale of a time on the boat. Firstly, while determining your route with your charter operator, you should think of what would make the kids happy. Add the beaches they will love and swim easily, some islets and other places that you know your kids will like. It is equally important that the crew and the captain are kid-friendly people who also have a good relationship with kids. This is something you may ask from the charter organization.

Snorkels, a canoe or an underwater scooter (depending on the children’s age) can make the kids even happier onboard. Another option is to rent a catamaran and let the kids have their fun on the trampoline between the two hulls. 

If your kid’s are young, you should ask the charter company to put a safety net around the boat. If you let the kids have some safe little tasks on the boat, they will feel even more included in the adventure.

False ‘Fact’ 6: Sailing holidays are only for the summer.

The truth is, especially for those who aren’t happy under the sun, and those who’d like to avoid the heat and the crowd, there’s nothing like a sailing holiday on April and May, or September and October. At these times you can thoroughly enjoy all the places you visit without getting exhausted from the summer heat. This is an important detail for those from Northern European countries who want to discover the Aegean or the Mediterranean on their sailing holidays. Spring and autumn temperatures of 25-to-28 ℃, and the serenity of the sea, offer the ideal conditions for a sailing holiday.